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Henry I of New Britannia
Henry I "The Wise" of New Britannia was the second Monarch of New Britannia. As the second oldest surviving son of David de Arevin, he was viewed as a potential successor to his father's Dukedom in the event of his brother dying without children. Henry himself would have twins, a son (William I ) and a daughter (Sandra de Arevin) at the age of 15, when he married his wife, Arabeth.After Andrew murdered his father, Henry had a rift with his brother on a personal level for the rest of his life and is said to have never forgiven him, but also remained a dedicated political supporter of his brother even after his death, placing the value of his brother as a tool for New Britannia's unity above his own personal feelings. When his brother became King of New Britannia, Henry became his heir presumptive, though would never be truly viewed as heir until after his brother died. He would ultimately have his second son, Charles, around this time. During his brother's reign he kept a low profile, learning diplomacy the best he could from his brother's diplomats and courting friendships with officials that would later be key supporters of his rule. Henry also courted close friendship with the young Robert Delmade, who would be his and his sons' leading general, his son in law and an eventual King of New Britannia during this time. Upon his brother's assassination, Henry was reluctant to press his claim to the throne, fearing that it would ensure his death as New Britannia's collapse seemed to be imminent. Robert, however, would convince Henry to press his claim and rally his various friends in government and the forces they possessed to assert himself as the King of New Britannia. The Duke of Kingstone would ultimately prove to be the only significant figure of resistance to Henry's rule, and upon upon being crushed by Henry's forces led by Robert Delmade (who would become the new Duke of Kingstone), signaled to any other would be resistors that Henry's rule was not to be questioned. After this, Henry extended his brother's reforms from infrastructure and military matters to also include social and economic matters, working to strengthen the economy of New Britannia and better the lives of its populace to ensure their their loyalty and willingness to fight for their nation's preservation. This, in later eras, has been credited with helping to establish New Britannia as a unified realm (whether decentralized or centralized) instead of a mere union of independent Dukedoms, Marches, Counties and Baronies. He would have his final child and son, James, in 32 1ENB. Henry's work and skills would prove invaluable, as would his promotion of Robert Delmade to head of his army, when the Britannian Empire declared war and made its new, second attempt to put an end to New Britannia's independence. Sending forces of lesser but comparable numbers to the original armada dispatched, the Britannian Empire would suffer moderate losses at sea as a result of Henry's choice to offer shelter to pirates in the area and his employment of privateers, though this was not sufficient enough to turn back the Britannian forces, though it weakened them somewhat and slowed them down sufficiently to allow for Henry to better prepare his defenses. When the Britannian forces invaded New Britannia, Robert was initially unable to hold back their advance (though inflicted heavy casualties) and Henry would be trapped in the, if heavily fortified, capital, cut off from most outside contact. It was at this time that the notion of Regency first entered New Britannia when Hnery managed to smuggle out a message declaring that Robert would wield the authority of a King for the duration of Henry's isolation. After nearly 7 months of siege, Arevad would be relieved of siege long enough for Henry to escape to safety. He would ultimately be on the run for the next 4 years of war, serving as the political counterpart to his leading general. In what perhaps saved his Kingdom, he managed to convince various barbarian kingdoms neighboring Britannia to invade them, forcing the Britannians to withdraw some of their, before then, constantly replenishing forces to their homeland. The weakened numbers of the Britannians coupled with Robert's military genius allowed for a massive reversal to occur in the year 38 1ENB, leading to the recapture of Arevad. It would take another year of war, fought along a largely static front line, to finally push the Britannians back to their beachhead, where they were crushed in the Battle of the Nine Beaches, ending the Second Britannian invasion of New Britannia in 39 1ENB. Henry would ultimately find himself spent by the whole affair, but managed to orchestrate additional invasions of Britannia by its neighbors and worked to rebuild his military and infrastructure in the final years of his reign. While he believed that New Britannia was still at risk of falling and would likely do so under his sons, his efforts ensured its survival throughout the following reigns of his unfit successors. He would die quietly in his bed in 43 1ENB.